Yao the Man
By Pauline T. Nyugen, Staff Writer

Yao. Yo. Yao. Yo. Yo. Yogi.

Houston has certainly expanded their reputation in the last year. Now, instead of being known as the hot, sweaty, and fat Bushland- we got Yao Ming. A first round draft by the Houston Rockets, this 22-year-old center has taken only a few months, not years, to ascend to the top of the basketball hierarchy. He already snatched a role in a multi-million dollar VISA ad for the SuperBowl and he advertises for Apple (remember, Mini Me and Yao?).

So, what's so special about Yao? For decades, Asian Americans have been trying to defy the "perpetual foreigner" myth. For some old reason, people actually believe that Asian Americans, even the ones who settled here in the 1800s, are just here temporarily. Historically, the Constitution has denied Asians citizenship because they believed that Asians were technically subjects of their native country.  Anti-Asian American sentiment went to a peak with the Abercrombie and Fitch T-shirts protests.  So, how did America come to love and embrace a 7'5" center who freely admits that he will play both for China and America?

It is an interesting paradox:  Yao Ming is as close as one could possible be to a foreigner.  He speaks limited English (although it is speculative that he knows more than he says).  He expresses loyalty for America and China.  So, how did anti-communist America vote Yao over Shaquille to be the Western Conference All Star center?

Yao Ming Fever has not only lured Asian Americans to basketball, but it has also lured Americans to China. l While I am not trying to create a dichotomy consisting of the Chinese and the Americans, I am not going to ignore our sordid past together.  I still remember, as many of you guys can attest to this, the childhood antics of being called "ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-so" to my face.  Back then, people could get away with it.  In 2002 before the hyped up Shaq-Yao Showdown in LA, Shaquille taunted Yao with such words.  Not only did his offensive remarks offend the usual suspects, but it also angered everybody. Yao does not conduct interviews in English, but nobody is offended. The NBA even has their website translated to try to grab Yao's potential 11.9 million Asian American fan base. When did Yao become so marketable?

Yao is being hailed, "China's greatest export." However, wasn't that term applied to Jackie Chan?  We have seen the rise and fall of many Asians trying to appeal to the Western audience.  We have seen them silently kick butt, play the goofy asexual sidekick, and heard Coco Lee be the imitation of J.Lo.  But, Yao has gained more appeal in the few months he's been here than Jackie Chan's 20 years in the movies. Yao seems to be on sacred ground- untouchable.  Nobody - except for Shaq, and he was rebuked - has made fun of Yao.  Everybody is so in love with Yao.  Have we finally found the solution to ending anti-Asian bigotry - let's bring more Asian basketball players from the East?